‘Pokemon Go’ Promotes Exercise, Socaliziation at Children’s Hospital

Pokemon Go is unrelenting in its popularity. And while it may seem like a little much at times -- even Justin Bieber dared face the public head-on when he emerged from his black SVU in front of 5th Avenue's tourist-ridden Apple Store to collect a Gyarados last week (July 18) -- it's uplifted spirits at a Michigan-area children's hospital, which should soften even the most hardened cynic.

C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, located in Ann Arbor through the University of Michigan, has been using the wildly popular app as a tool to help their patients with physical therapy.

In a video posted to the University of Michigan Health System's YouTube page, the hospital’s child life specialist J.J. Bouchard explained that Pokemon Go has helped promote both exercise and social interaction among patients who had otherwise been unwilling to do so before use of the app.

“We’re using it to help patients get out and see the world, and it’s kind of a sneaky way to get kids to exercise," Bouchard said. "Not only are they walking around and getting really excited but they’re doing certain movements, so if I'm trying to get a kid to raise his arms up or to squat down, I can say, 'Hey the guy’s a little bit lower. Can you reach down and get him?' Not only does he wanna do it, but he's trying to catch that Pokemon."

The app has even encouraged patients to explore the hospital more in search of finding rare Pokemon, effectively elevating the entire mood of the place.

"It's also a way to make the hospital less scary," Bouchard continued. "Kids are exploring a place that maybe they were afraid of five minutes before we introduced this app to them. And now they wanna see every nook and cranny in the hospital and learn about it.

"It just raises the general atmosphere of happiness here in the hospital," he said.

Check out the video above to see how Pokemon Go has helped the patients at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.